The Start of a Whole New Adventure

It's been a couple of weeks since I last blogged. If you have been checking in regularly, my apologise for the lack of information. Alot of my creative thinking and general typing has been invested in (mainly) work.

After about four months of being in the wilderness, I feel like I am strolling in the meadows of a lush landscape. There is some provision to get the journey started, but as I said in my last post, the best is yet to come and I am looking forward to seeing the real fruits of this land my family and I are now in.

The other thing that has happened since I last blogged is that my wife and I feel it is time to sell our house and move on..... down. Six years ago, we moved into a very large house in our hometown and started to serve the Church family by being a Mum & Dad and Brother & Sister to people who needed a home. During that time, thirteen different people lived with us from various walks of life and for varying periods of time.

Many people have asked us how we have done it; how we have 'coped' on a day-to-day basis. There is a grace. It has been a privilege and honour to serve people and love them, but their is a grace for it. Some people have the grace to feed the homeless every night; some people have the grace to raise two/three/four children alone; some have the grace to work as teachers or doctors and put in long hours. We had the grace to do what we did, but now it has gone. That is not a bad thing, but when the grace to do something has gone (the unshakeable willingness to give of yourself without hesitation of question), it is time to consider the future.

For some time now we have been talking about whether our time was up. Whether our season had come to an end and whether it was time to move into something smaller and focus on our own children. In the last ten days, that has been confirmed again and again - it is time to focus on the core family so that their future is secure. Don't get me wrong - there is absolutely nothing wrong with our family life or our friendships. Quite the opposite. But that is partly why we want to focus on just the four of us.... to ensure that the future is better than the past.

We have started the process of getting the house valued. That has been fun. It is amazing how one estate agent can value the house at one price and another be different by as much as 20%. I am sure that by the time they have all reviewed and estimated, we will have some idea of its true value.

My wife saw a friend today who was really excited for us. "The start of a whole new adventure", she said. And she's right - it is. The best is (still) yet to come and we are starting on a whole new adventure. Life should be like that.... it should be one big adventure to be enjoyed. Our adventure is now going to be with our children and then our wider Church family.

Whether you are thinking of moving house, moving jobs, moving the furniture or simply changing your view on life, I hope you enjoy "the whole new adventure" that awaits you. There will be a grace for it.

I Will Follow

I know, I know. I have managed to mention U2 at least three times in a week. I am not getting excited about seeing them in August.... honest!

As I was recently walking around the house, I was wondering what my dog's favourite song might be. After going through some of the classics - Who Let The Dogs Out, Puppy Love and You Ain't Nothing But A Hound Dog - I decided it was probably I Will Follow by U2. This is mainly because he spends most of his time following me around the house.

If I settle in a room to do something, he is there. If I go into the garden, he is there. If I sit in the lounge, he comes and sits with me. I imagine him humming the tune to himself as he trots around the house. Every now and then he gets distracted and runs away barking at some imaginary threat. He is a great guard dog.

It got me thinking about what it is that I follow. My Master is my Lord and Saviour, my Heavenly Father. Do I follow my Master from room to room? Do I ensure that if He leaves one room and goes to another, I follow? Am I always looking to him for my daily love, affection and food? Or, am I distracted by sights and sounds which lead me away from Him? I wonder how many imaginary enemies I have in my life which cause me to turn the other way and shout.

I hope and pray that I can continue to follow my Master and always look to Him to supply everything I need. Shouting and running around takes a lot of effort - following my Master and settling in the same room as Him is much, much easier.